DirectorFrancis Ford Coppola’s passion project, the epic science-fiction dramaMegalopolis, was seemingly dead on arrival at the box office some weeks ago. The film’scolorful production historyhas been widely documented over the years, but it was released to little optimism. Themovie struggled to find distributionafter its divisive premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, but was eventually picked up by the struggling Lionsgate, who promised Coppola a wide release. But despite this last-minute glimmer of hope, the film was a non-starter, and less than a month later, ithas all but disappeared from the marketplace. That being said,Megalopolisfinally passed a box office milestoneof sorts, but one that surely can’t be worth celebrating.
With $7.3 million domestically and another $3.4 million from overseas markets,the film has now passed the $10 million mark globally. This would be a worryingly low number for any wide release, let alone one this costly. Coppola famouslyself-funded the project for a reported $120 million, which he amassed by selling a stake in his wine empire. ButMegalopolisopened to just $4 million domestically, before nose-diving in the subsequent days. It is now playing in only around 200 domestic locations, and grossed just $230,000this weekend.
Megalopolisopened to poor audience response, earninga dreaded D+ CinemaScore. While this could be regarded as a badge of honor in some circles — several other films that are now perceived as classics have earned similar CinemaScores — it didn’t exactly translate into box office revenue. And in any case,Joker: Folie à Deuxstole the limelight on this front as well only a week later, earning a slightly worse D CinemaScore. Reviews forMegalopoliswere more divisive; the movie appears to have settled at a “rotten” 46% approval rating on the aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes.In his review, Collider’sChase Hutchinsondescribed it as “a Rorschach test where everything is a stretch and nothing has any substance to it.”
Adam Driver Is Part of a Unique Club
Despite the film’s unfortunate performance at the box office, it helped pushCoppola’s career box office past the $700 million mark domestically. It also added another unique feather to starAdam Driver’s cap; he’s now helped realize a long-gestating passion project not only for Coppola, but also for directorsTerry Gilliam,Michael Mann, andMartin Scorsese. You can watchMegalopolisin theaters if it’s still playing near you, or you could wait for it to hit the home video market. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
Megalopolis
An architect wants to rebuild New York City as a utopia following a devastating disaster.
